Minimum Wage Ethnography

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Ethnography Paper The subject I chose to do my ethnography paper on was minimum wage. Minimum wage is the lowest possible wage that an employer is legally allowed to pay his/her employees. Supporters of the establishment of a federal minimum wage believe and promote that this system helps in the reduction of exploitation and that it guarantees workers the ability to provide for themselves, and any family member, the basic necessities needed for survival (i.e. food and shelter). But others argue that the federal minimum wage adds to an increased unemployment rate among younger people and unskilled workers. Minimum wage work is often referred to as “skilled labor” and includes the completion of unwanted, minuscule tasks. Examples of jobs with…show more content…
Their answers were all related to three topics: race (minority racial groups, such as Hispanics usually make up the majority of the employees), education (or lack of ), and motivation (low-paid and unskilled workers have little or no drive to “make something” of themselves). Despite these stereotypes expressed in the interviews, I did not observe any obvious forms of rude behavior or discrimination towards employees. The customers seemed to respond in a way that reflected the one they were approached with by the employee. Most customers appeared to be in a hurry, but remained polite and patient. One difference I did notice about the customers at the two different locations is that at the first location, the customers mostly military personnel and were more courteous and more likely to clean up after themselves or tuck-in a chair than those at the second location. At the second location the majority of the customers were immature high schoolers that seemed less aware of and concerned about the mess they were leaving behind or having appropriate attitudes towards the…show more content…
The physical location of the restaurant, interaction amongst employees and employers, and the treatment of the workers all play a significant role in the analysis of my observations. In conclusion, I found that those working a minimum wage job are doing so for personal reasons but in general terms the job was not taken as a desirable one, but because it offered an opportunity for economic growth and stability. Although there are stereotypes held about those people working minimum wage jobs, this observation provides people with the opportunity to see that these workers are not defined by the labor they perform. People working at minimum wage level are taking advantage of the opportunities available to them to sustain an income and plan for the
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